


Power of Words 2: Experiment

by Platonic1



Series: Power of Words [2]
Category: Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Parody, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 14:04:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20779808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Platonic1/pseuds/Platonic1
Summary: Bored out of his mind, Zidane decides to perform an experiment. His test subjects... Squall and Lightning. He ingeniously set them up on a "date" in the Valley of Mist and the comedy ensue. Squall x Lightning





	Power of Words 2: Experiment

_Dear Cloud-of-Darkness,_

_When I saw you for the first time, my hands became numb, my heart slowly stopped beating!_  
_I couldn’t speak, and I started sweating!_  
_I thought I fell in love! But then I realized…_  
_That I was having a stroke!_

_The point is…_  
_I am so much in love with you that I am clearly mistaking my health condition as a sign of love._

_You are all I think about, you are all I care about,  
You are my **Focus**, and you are all I dream about._

_You take my breath away, (please return my asthma inhaler) You **Sap** my strength.  
You **Drain** me of all my energy (return my painkiller meds too), And **Pain** my heart to great length._

_When you look at me, I get chills as if I am going through a **Blizzaga**.  
When you touch me, it feels like my skin is set on **Firaga**._

_When you talk to me, your **Aqua Breath** revitalized my **Bio**-logy.  
Your voice is like a **Thundaga**, which **Cure**s my **Confuse**d psychology._

_When you touched me, I went into cardiac arrhythmia and your kiss gave me a **Shock**  
Soon, I realized that it was a dream, I woke up and it was not even 5 o’clock._

_When you are with someone else, it feels like an **Apocalypse**, which I truly abhor.  
My heart breaks like a **Quake** and its pieces fall like **Meteor**._

_When you kiss me (hypothetically speaking and optimistically expecting), it feels like I am detached from **Gravity** and **Float** in **Aero**.  
I am **Blind** in your love (and my insurance does not even cover for blindness, damn Chaos), And my future without you is narrow._

_Without you, the only thing certain is my **Death**, (btw, have you seen my Prozac?) I want to live but only you can give me my **Life**.  
I want to be with you before I die (or before you die, whichever comes first), and perhaps even be with you in my afterlife._

_My love for you is **Holy**, my love for you is pure, In this dark world, my love is like a **Flare**.  
I can’t get you out of my head because you are my **Ultima**, and your love is the only things I care._

_So having laid my feelings bare, I ask you to be honest and not to lie.  
I am willing to share my life, if you agree to become my wife._

_(Before you answer, please consider the following)_

_Our insurance will greatly reduce if you become my wife.  
We can file our tax returns together and save money as we start our new life._

_Plus, did you know that you can save up to 15 percent or more on car insurance by switching to Geico?_

_Yours truly,  
Kefka._

* * *

“Who knew Kefka could be so romantic? I am sure this poem would come in handy,” saying that, he folded the piece of paper and tucked it in his back pocket along with the crystal he had stolen earlier.

* * *

##### On the cliff overseeing the Valley of Mist

“Hey”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever wonder why we are here?” asked Bartz lying on the ground with his hands tucked underneath his head.

“It’s one of life’s great mysteries, isn’t it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence? Or where we created for some purpose? I don’t know man, but it keeps me up at night,” said Zidane.

After a long and awkward silence that was a loud noise.

THWACK

“You idiot! All I am asking is why are we here? On this damn cliff,” Bartz’s restated his question in a very assertive way.

“Ohhhh… that…umm… yeah….that…you see… it’s a…” Zidane fumbled with words.

“You have no idea, do you?” it was a rhetorical question to which Zidane responded by shaking his head sideways.

“All Cosmos said was to guard this valley with our lives. What could possibly be so important about this place that it needs four warriors to guard it?” Bartz let out his frustration.

Zidane just shrugged in reply.

“I mean, shouldn’t we be fighting against the bad guys who are not-so-secretly trying to take over the universe? All we ever do here is to patrol this area anyway,” Bartz argued his point.

“No,” Zidane interjected. “All we ever do is sit here and talk while they patrol.”

“That’s true,” he confessed a bit shameful. “Talking about them, where are Squall and Lightning?”

Zidane said in his best zen-like-tone, “They are either patrolling this area or making out in some bushes.”

“I don’t know why they even bother with that,” said Bartz.

“What? Making out?”

THWACK

“No, I am talking about patrolling this area. You said there was no one here beside us, so what’s the point of going on another patrol?” Bartz asked.

“Maybe they just want some “private time” if you know what I mean,” Zidane said mischievously. “You know a young guy and gal both in their 20s. What else would they be doing out there?” he said in a very suggestive manner.

“That’s just stupid. Even by your standards, Zidane. We are in the middle of a war and you think they are doing THAT?” Bartz almost sounded disgusted as he finished his sentence.

“Hey, I am not making this thing up. I have a solid reason to believe it,” Zidane defended.

“Enlighten me, oh great one, what’s your reasoning?” he asked, folding his hands over his chest.

“Look, I put myself in their shoes… and… and… that’s what I found myself doing. So it must be true.”

THWACK

“Not everyone thinks like you… in fact, no one thinks like you,” Bartz exclaimed.

“Love is a universal language, my friend. It’s the same for everyone. Trust me.” Zidane stated matter-of-factly.

“Dude, what kind of logic is that? It’s like saying, an ant lives in a jungle and an elephant lives in a jungle; Therefore, they must be making out when no one is looking. That does not even make sense,” Bartz debated. “Okay, that wasn’t the best analogy, but you get the point, right?”

Zidane nodded in agreement.

“Zidane, what was the point?” Not satisfied with his nod, Bartz persisted.

“Umm… that love is blind? It knows no difference between elephant or an ant,” Zidane said innocently.

“Urghhhhhh”

* * *

##### After another hour.

_Zidane and Bartz are still talking._

“Hey”

“Yeah?”

“Do you believe in extraterrestrials being?” asked curious Bartz.

“You mean like aliens and stuff?” Zidane verified.

He nodded in response.

“Dude, of course, I believe in aliens.” After taking a brief pause, he said, “If we are the only life forms considered intelligent then this universe is so freaking screwed.”

“Hahaha, that so true,” Bartz said with laughter in his voice.

Once their amusement settled, Zidane begins, “I’ve been thinking…”

_‘Zidane and thinking… I never thought I would hear these two words in the same sentence in my lifetime,’_ Bartz thought to himself.

But, Bartz decided to amuse his friend, “You don’t think much anyway, so I am just curious as to what were you thinking about, Zidane?”

“I’ve been thinking about love,” he said thoughtfully.

“What about it?” asked his friend.

“I want to conduct an experiment about bonding two people together,” Zidane said, trying to sound sophisticated.

“Dude, we’ve been gathered here from all over the universe to fight the evil and you want to play matchmaker right now?”

“What can I do? I am a lover, I am not a warrior,” Zidane replied with a shrug.

“I know I am going to regret asking this, but tell me exactly what you are planning to do?”

“I plan to find a hot chick for our good buddy Squall,” Zidane said with a glint in his eyes.

“Please tell me you are not serious,” Bartz said with his hands on his head.

“Do I sound funny to you?” asked Zidane in the most serious tone he can conjure.

“Ya, sort of,” Bartz replied honestly.

“Yeah, well that’s how I normally sound, but when it comes to love I don’t joke, brother,” he said, putting his hand on Bartz.

“Come on, dude, Squall of all people? That guy has no romantic skills whatsoever. It’s like he was born of a robot.”

“Oh, the mediocrity of a mediocre mind. Do you even know the partner I have picked for him?”

“Ultimecia?” Bartz guessed.

THWACK

“No, you imbecile. I am going to pair him up with Lightning. Squall and Lightning,” he stated his intentions.

“Lightning? This is never going to work,” Bartz said with utmost certainty.

“That’s the same thing you told me when I set up Cloud and Terra. Look at them now! You have to practically pull them apart with a crowbar,” Zidane defended.

“Ya, you do have a point. But Squall and Lightning are very different from them,” Bartz argued.

“Squall and Lightning… they are… like made for each other. I mean just look at their names for God’s sake. Squall is at its lethal best when it’s with lightning and lightning is most powerful when it’s part of a squall. Squall and lightning they both go hand in hand. You cannot separate them even if you wanted to. It’s like they feed off each other,” Zidane explained his rationale.

“You know someone else who feed off each other? Black widows. I am sure a Black Widow would score higher on romance than both of them combined,” Bartz countered, not impressed with Zidane’s logic.

“Okay, that’s a valid point,” Zidane admitted.

After thinking for while Zidane came up with the question, “Let me ask you this, on a scale of 10 to -10 where would you rate Squall when it comes to romance?”

“-10, I am sorry I can’t go any lower than that,” Bartz replied without missing a beat.

“Agreed. So how would you rate lightning in the romance department from 10 to -10?”

“-10, no questions,” he stated firmly.

“Now tell me from your school days... what is negative times negative?” Zidane asked an ingenious question.

“Oh, my god! It’s positive,” he said as the realization dawned upon him.

“As per my expert calculations, they are a PERFECT match!” Zidane announced proudly.

“Zidane you… you… are the best non-certified genius ever,” Bartz said being impressed with Zidane.

“This world is just not ready for my wisdom.”

* * *

##### After yet another hour

_Zidane and Bartz are still talking._

"What makes you think they even like each other?" Bartz asked the obvious question.

"Have you ever seen how they look at each other?" Zidane pointed out as if it was the most obvious.

"They look at each other just like the way they look at everyone else."

"They steal secret glances when no one is watching. Then they disappear for hours together," Zidane pointed out.

"That’s for training."

"They are constantly watching each other’s back in combat," Zidane said again.

"That’s what allies do, Zidane."

"They both like quiet places, don’t talk much, like to hang out with each other, fight with gunblade, and are very committed to their cause, and there are plenty of other things I can point out to you," Zidane itemized.

"Some of those are valid points, I must agree," Bartz agreed.

"Besides, we all call her Lightning and guess what Squall calls her?"

"Light."

"See," he said, throwing his hands in the air.

"Okay, fine. So how do you plan to make the impossible possible?" asked Bartz getting curious.

"Watch and learn young one. They don’t call me 'The Master-Match-Maker' for nothing," Zidane said as he stood up proudly.

"Who calls you that?" Bartz inquired.

"Well, it is just me for now, but I am sure people will catch on eventually," he said with a wide grin while Bartz just shook his head in disbelief.

"Okay, so what’s your plan Mr. Master-Match-Maker?" Bartz queried

(Whisper… Whisper … Whisper…)

"That is never going to work," Bartz said after hearing Zidane’s so-called 'Plan.'

"Geezzz, why do you have to be so negative about everything?" Zidane grumble.

"Because it’s not going to work and it will be a disaster," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay, Halbert Einstein, tell me something."

"Wait, who is Halbert Einstein?"

"I don’t know. But Garnet always says, ‘Dear, you are as smart as Halbert Einstein’ whenever I say something smart. So, I am guessing he must be someone super smart. Ahhh, forget about it, just answer my question. What happens on a date?"

"Well, the guy and girl have a good time, preferably alone."

"Check."

"There should be a pleasant and romantic atmosphere."

"Dude, where are you going to find a more beautiful valley than this? It’s romantic." Zidane stated, pointing out the scenery in front of them.

"Maybe good music?" Bartz listed the next item.

"It’s gonna rain soon, the clouds are covering in. So check."

"Good dinner?"

"Umm… ya that I think that is an optional part of a date. We can skip that one." Said Zidane hastily. Bartz gave him, you-are-freaking-kidding-me-right look to Zidane. "Trust me, I’ve been on many dates."

_'How the hell did he ever get married to a Queen?'_

"What else?" Zidane asked.

"Maybe some romance ending with a good kiss."

"Oh, I got that covered. You see, I have this poem which is sooooo romantic that by the end of it Lightning would be totally in love with Squall," Zidane said it in one breath.

"YOU have a poem! Please tell me it’s not like the last time," Bartz verified as history flashed in front of his eyes.

"Last time, it wasn’t my fault. Cloud wrote that poem. I just wrote my name on it. This one is totally mine," Zidane said, trying his best to sell it.

_'Well, actually it is Kefka’s, but since I stole it, technically it is mine.'_

"I don’t know why, but right now I feel that fighting against Garland, Emperor, Cloud of Darkness, Golbez, Exdeath, Kefka, Sephiroth, Ultimecia, Kuja, Jecht, Gabranth, AND Chaos… alone… barehanded… feels like a safer idea then help you with your plans," Bartz admitted.

"Man, you are so negative. When was the last time, my plan didn’t work?"

"Okay, let’s see, when we went to steal –"

"It was a rhetorical question. Geez."

* * *

##### After yet yet another hour

"Hey Squall, Lightning, over here!" Zidane waived and called them over.

"Hey Zidane," Squall acknowledged while Lightning just nodded.

"So, guys, how was the patrol? Did you find anything out of the ordinary?" Zidane inquired.

"Well, we did find two people," Lightning started.

"Woh! I thought we were the only ones here!" Zidane jumped back in surprise.

_‘Oh man, I will never hear the end of this from Bartz.’_

"It was Cloud and Terra," Squall said in his usual monotone.

"Cloud and Terra! What are they doing here? I thought they were off to fight the bad guys?" Zidane asked.

"That’s what we thought too, until we encountered them," said Lightning.

"Where did you find them?" he inquired further.

"In bushes. Doing their personal things." Squall started, obviously uncomfortable describing the details.

"What kind of things?" Zidane probed further with a grin on his face.

"You know… a young and gal both in their 20s... who likes each other… and they do stuff when they are alone and no one is watching them…" Squall tried to explain in the best possible way he could.

"They were making out," Lightning stated matter-of-factly.

_‘Oh man, Bartz is never going to hear the end of this. And he thought I was wrong. Take that sucker’_

"Zidane, why are you grinning?" inquired Squall.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. That’s how I normally look like," Zidane said, pointing at his face.

"So, do you have anything to report?" Squall asked in fellow patrollers.

"Actually, I do. I have a message from Cosmo. She said that Chaos is trying to open a portal for his manikins in the valley," he said, pointing at the valley below.

"She has asked both of you to guard the valley, while Bartz, and I will guard the entrance. She insisted not to leave the valley unguarded."

"This sounds serious," Squall said, looking at Light.

"We should move immediately," Light proposed.

"Go get ‘em, tiger," Zidane said with two thumbs up.

"What?" Squall asked with a confused look on his face.

"Oh, I mean… um… go for it like a tiger… or a lion if you prefer… and shred those manikins to pieces," Zidane stuttered.

"Whatever, Zidane," Squall waived as he turned around and started walking into the valley.

Zidane came back to their hiding post and announced proudly, "Step one complete. They are so blinded muwhahahaha"

* * *

It took them about 20 minutes to reach to the heart of the valley. There was a nice lake on one side and a luscious flower field on the other.

Both the warriors scouted the region, but found nothing unusual. After a whole day of patrol and mindlessly looking for anything out of the ordinary, they decided to take a break.

They both sat side by side, not too close yet not too far, from each other.

They have been together for a few months now. They have trained together, fought together and even bleed together.

Especially since they both were gunblade users, they often trained together and ended up spending lots of time together. So they were no aliens to each other.

Still, socializing for them usually involves quietly sitting next to each other and enjoying each other’s company in silence.

Meanwhile, Zidane popped out his binoculars and scanned the area. His wandering eyes settled on them sitting side by side and he proudly announced, "Our targets are socializing."

"Let me see that," Bartz said, grabbing the binoculars from Zidane.

"Okay, so what’s next on our checklist?" Zidane asked.

"The guy and the girl are alone," Bartz said, still looking from the binoculars.

"Check"

"Nice romantic atmosphere"

"Check"

"Music?"

"Well, I can’t control the weather, so skip."

"Dinner?"

"I thought we agreed to skip that."

"Okay, fine. Skip." Bartz continued, "Next on the list is romance leading up to a kiss."

Bartz looked away from the binoculars and said to Zidane, "You know this date is moving too fast."

"I agree. Let’s give them some time to socialize."

* * *

##### Ten minutes later

Squall, "…"

Lightning, "…"

"You know they are not talking," Bartz pointed out the obvious.

"It’s normal for them," Zidane tried to convince him.

* * *

##### Twenty minutes later

Squall, "…"

Lightning, "…"

"Okay, this is boring. They are still not talking," Bartz complain.

* * *

##### Thirty minutes later

Squall, "…"

Lightning, "…"

"This is officially the worst date ever. And the worst part is that I am not even on this date," Bartz was getting frustrated.

* * *

##### Forty minutes later

"I don’t see any sign of trouble. Do you think Cosmos was wrong about this?" Squall asked his partner.

"I don’t know. But I am tired of sitting and doing nothing," Lightning said as she stood up dusting herself off the ground.

"Want to spar?" he proposed.

"I guess. We’ve got nothing better to do anyway," she agreed, pulling out her gunblade.

And then they started sparring.

"Zidane, this is a disaster. Now they are fighting," Bartz yelled the news to his friend.

"The statistic suggests those who fight on their first date often have a long-lasting relationship," he said nonchalantly making up some random statistic on the spot.

"But Zidane, they are fighting on their first date with gunblades!" he said, trying to make him understand the gravity of the situation.

"Dude, they are warriors. That’s how they communicate. This is their way of socializing," Zidane said in his relationship-expert tone.

* * *

##### Few minutes later

"Bartz come here quickly. Things are getting hot out there," Zidane called his friend still clutching his binoculars.

Zidane looked through his left eye while Bartz looked through his right.

"Oh my god. This can’t be real."

Squall’s hand was placed just above Lightning’s knee.

* * *

##### In the valley

"When you are attacking, you have to transfer your body weight forward for better momentum. So, you have to bend your leg from here so get a better balance," Squall instructed.

"Doing that will transfer your body weight on these muscles called quadriceps femoris," he said quickly placing his hand on the region of interest.

"I see," Lightning said.

"Let’s try it now," he instructed.

With that, they resumed their training.

* * *

##### On the ciff

"Yup, believe your eyes. It is all real. And you thought this would be a disaster," Zidane said, smacking on the back of Bartz.

Two warriors exchanged a few blows back and forth as they changed their position. Now from Zidane’s position, Lightning’s back was facing them.

What happened next, knocked both of them off their feet.

* * *

##### In the valley

"Hold your position," Squall instructed. He then put away his gunblade. He cupped Lightning’s face with both of his hands.

"You have a tendency to tilt your head slightly this way when you attack," he said, tilted her face slightly more to better demonstrate what he was saying.

"So, what you have to do is keep it straight, aligned with your body," he then readjusted her head is proper posture.

Lightning was complying with Squall as she absorbed knowledge from another gunblade specialist.

"If I tilt my head while the momentum of my attack is taking me forward, then my head will also move forward—"

* * *

##### On the cliff

All Zidane and Bartz saw Squall holding Lightning’s head, then tilting his head slowly and inching closer to her.

"Oh my god, he is gonna kiss her!"

* * *

##### In the valley

"And because of that, you risk pulling a muscle in the back of your neck in this area," he said, as he moved his hand in the back of her neck pointing out the region of interest. "Think of it like whiplash damage to the neck." He finished his sentence inches away  
from her face, and then he pulled back to assume his normal stance.

* * *

##### On the cliff

"Success!" they both exclaimed in joy.

"Zidane. Poem. Now!" said the very opportunistic Bartz.

"Oh crap, I forgot about that!" Zidane replied as he pulled out the poem.

With the poem in hand, he climbed on the rock nearby such that he could be seen and heard by the two warriors below.

As Zidane climbed on the rock, some smaller pebbles trickled down the slope.

Squall was explaining his gunblade techniques when Lightning interrupted, "Shhh… Silence! Do you hear that?"

Unknown to the power of her own words, she had unintentionally cast Silence spell on Squall. Squall actually tried to respond but found himself unable to do so. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out of it. Squall was bewildered, to say the least.

As the sun set, the mist in the atmosphere stared thickening in the evening. Zidane’s visibility without binoculars was very low, so he made sure he was heard loud and clear.

Excited by his early success he announced proudly, "Ladies and gentlemen. Well, technically, Lady and Gentleman. I trust you are having a great time together. Now that you are very well acquainted with each other, let me do the honors of initiating act two of this love story. I am going to read a poem which was given to me by Squall. It is his love confession for Lightning. Here it goes."

Lightning turned around and shot a glare at Squall as if saying I-am-going-to-kill-you-and-I-won’t-regret-it-one-bit. Squall was still trying to digest the nonsense Zidane had just coughed up at them.

> _Dear Lightning,_
> 
> _When I saw you for the first time, my hands became numb, my heart slowly stopped beating!_  
_I couldn’t speak, and I started sweating!_  
_I thought I fell in love! But then I realized…_  
_That I was having a stroke!_
> 
> _The point is…_  
_I am so much in love with you that I am clearly mistaking my health condition as a sign of love._

_'Damn! I forgot to change it,'_ Zidane realized.

"Okay, Lightning just so that you know Squall does not have any health conditions; it’s just a sentiment he is trying to convey," Zidane clarified.

“Anyway, continuing with the poem.”

> _You are all I think about, you are all I care about,_  
_You are my **Focus**, and you are all I dream about._  


Suddenly Zidane’s visibility because much lower as a thick layer of mist encased the valley. All Bartz saw through his binoculars was a very thick layer of mist.

Down in the Valley, both Squall and Lightning noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere. Their initial reaction was of the manikins attack.

Soon things started to make sense in Squall’s head, _'Wait a minute! First Silence and now Focus! Is this another one of those Valley of Mist?'_

"What’s going on?" Lightning asked.

Squall would have gladly explained to her that they were in a Valley of Mist. It is a land of immense magical potential. The magic field in this area is so strong that the moment you utter a name of a spell, or an attack, it instantly conjures. But, too bad, Squall couldn’t talk as he was still feeling the effects of Lightning’s Silence.

> _You take my breath away, You **Sap** my strength._  
_You **Drain** me of all my energy, And **Pain** my heart to great length._

He suddenly felt all his energy being drained by a spell called Sap. This confirmed his suspicion, _'Oh my god! It is another Valley of Mist.'_ Thanks to Focus all the spells are cast with twice the actual power so the effect Sap was much more severe than a normal spell.

A powerful Drain spell further drained them of any energy. _'This makes sense now. Cosmos wanted us to protect this area because of its tremendous magical potential,'_ the shocking realization dawned upon him.

Lightning was also hunched over with immense pain. "What’s happening?"

Squall tried his best, but he still couldn’t talk.

"Manikins?" she asked Squall. _'It’s not a manikin, it’s a monkey,'_ Squall thought getting really annoyed.

Next was a very painful spell appropriately called the Pain. How very creative? Pain is a spell with Darkness, Silence, AND poison.

"We are under attack," she said, but no words came out of her mouth. Her eyes started getting blurry and within minutes it was complete darkness.

So, they couldn’t see each other, couldn’t talk with each other, and their energy constantly depleting. Not a good start to a date.

> _When you look at me, I get chills as if I am going through a **Blizzardga**._  
_When you touch me, it feels like my skin is set on **Firega**._

The cold air started blowing, and the atmosphere became chilly. Very chilly. They were both walking around blindly when they were frozen in their steps, quite literally. A strong Blizzardga encased them in ice before exploding with tremendous energy, crushed their body.

The tingling sensation of ice was still lingering when the surrounding atmosphere suddenly became hot. No, not in a romantic way. The atmosphere literally became hot as a giant ball of fire engulfed them next.

> _When you talk to me, your **Aqua Breath** revitalized my **Bio**-logy._  
_Your voice is like a **Thunderga**, which **Cure**s my **Confuse**d psychology._

They both silently appreciated the soothing Aqua breath attack right after Firega. But his next attack wasn’t appreciated. At all.

They were already poisoned, but now they got an upgrade, a better version of poison was inflicted thanks to Bio.

They were barely back up on their feet when the sky above howled menacingly.

Squall and Lightning, meet Thunder. Next came bolts of electricity from the sky, as their tormentor continued his ridiculous poetry.

Hearing the sound of Thunder in the distance Zidane silently complimented himself, "Man, I am good. I even predicted the weather correctly today. I am on a roll."

Once they were fired like a chicken, Zidane showed some mercy on them by casting Cure. Their relief didn’t last long because they were soon hit by Confused.

> _When you touched me, I went into cardiac arrhythmia and your kiss gave me a **Shock**_  
_Soon, I realized that it was a dream, I woke up and it was not even 5 o’clock._

Another powerful electric attack jarred them out of their confused state.

The good news was that the effect of silence was wearing off, so now they can express their discomfort.

Unfortunately, their screams fell on deaf ears.

"Zidane, do you hear someone screaming?" inquired Bartz.

Zidane paused for a while before concluding, "Oh, that’s the sound of angels singing."

"No, Zidane I am serious. Just a while ago I heard someone screaming," Bartz pleaded his case.

"Oh, shut up and stop screwing up a romantic moment." And with that, he continued his poem.

> _When you are with someone else it feels like an **Apocalypse**, which I truly abhor._  
_My heart breaks like a **Quake** and its pieces fall like **Meteor**._

Their bodies had no time to recover as they were hit by one of the deadliest spells of all, Apocalypse. A strong magical force delimited them and then it imploded with tremendous energy, knocking them back by a few feet.

You know how they say, "When you are in love, it feels like the ground is giving away?" In this case, it was quite literally that, as a massive Quake hit them and the ground beneath them slowly started sliding away.

Once the massive Quake subsided, both the warriors were drained out of their strength as they lay on the ground breathing heavily.

Both the "supposed" lovers were laid flat on the ground looking at the sky when a beautiful meteor shower started lighting up the sky. Under normal circumstances, it might have been a romantic sight, but the situation was hardly normal.

This particular meteor shower was more like a homing missile aimed at them.

> _When you kiss me, it feels like I am detached from **Gravity** and **Float** in **Aero**._  
_I am **Blind** in your love, And my future path without you is narrow._

Zidane’s romantic salvo continued with three consecutive attacks. 

The first was Gravity, both the warriors were lifted off their feet as they temporarily defied 9.81 m/s2 force of gravity. They floated in the air like some massless object with no proper control over their bodies. Lightning held on to Squall’s hand for support. Almost immediately the gravitational field collapsed depleting quarter of their HP. Soon they realized why they say, "Gravity is a bit*h," as their bodies started accelerating towards the ground. No sooner did their bodies hit the floor, they were lifted again, thanks to Float. While floating in the air, Aero hit them knocking the wind out of them.

Next was Blind, to give some finishing touches to the misery. If they can’t see, they can’t dodge. It was as simple as that.

With their voice regained, they screamed their heart out. Squall even threw in some profanities for additional effect.

> _Without you, the only thing certain is my **Death**, I want to live but only you can give me my **Life**._  
_I want to be with you before I die, and perhaps even be with you in my afterlife._

A Grim Reaper arose from the ground below to harvest his offering. Both warriors were still inflicted by Blind so no chance of dodging, as they were sitting ducks for the Grim Reaper. At this point, even Grim Reaper felt sorry for them.

Today, Zidane had made two very powerful enemies, Squall and Lightning. But he was about to make a third enemy, the Grim Reaper.

After all the hard work done by Grim Reaper, Zidane negated it by casting Life. The Grim Reaper was not very happy. He had knocked them out, and Zidane readily revived them. All his hard work down the drain.

> _My love for you is **Holy**, my love for you is pure, In this dark world, my love is like a **Flare**._  
_I can’t get you out of my head because you are my **Ultima**, and your love is the only things I care._

A white light filled the sky in a blink of an eye. The boundless energy stuck down with tremendous power, multiplying their agony as Holy spell hit them.

As if that wasn’t enough, a huge ball of light was homing in on them. They were stunned by the impact and blinded by the luminance of Flare. Their bodies were screaming for mercy.

Up next was the best of the best spell, Ultima. The mist around them started swirling at a frantic pace. Soon a massive amount of energy was conjured from the mist and surrounded their bodies. Like a bomb, it exploded outwards with tremendous energy. 

Within seconds, that emitting energy retracted and converged on them, crushed their body.

> _So having laid my feelings bare, I ask you to be honest and not to lie._  
_I am willing to share my life, if you agree to become my wife._

“Sorry, I meant girlfriend, not a wife,” Zidane corrected quickly.

“Too soon for that, right Bartz?” he asked his complicit. Bartz nodded in approval.

"The End," Zidane announced proudly.

* * *

##### In the valley

They were sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily. "That was the worst poem ever," Lightning confessed.

"I agree," Squall admitted.

"But I did not know you felt that way," she said, turning her face towards Squall.

"Neither did I," he said with a rare smile.

Squall stood up first and then offered a hand to Lightning. "Let’s go kick some monkey ass."

"I agree" saying that she held on to Squall’s hand as he pulls her to her feet. Much to Squall’s surprise, she didn’t let go of his hand even when they both stood side by side.

"Let’s go."

**Author's Note:**

> If you chuckled, smiled, or laughed, then you owe me a review.


End file.
